As Yemen’s Government Falls, So May a U.S. Strategy for Fighting Terror
TIME’s Mark Thompson reports that on Tuesday Houthi rebels attacked the palace of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, eliciting fear that the U.S. will lose Hadi as a key ally in the fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). U.S. counterterrorism policy in Yemen, long characterized as a “light footprint,” may no longer be viable, David Sedney, a former Pentagon top official, tells Thompson. “If the only U.S. response is to increase drone strikes and send in more special forces, then we better get prepared for some difficult, violent years ahead.”